Thornburg getting the call?

The Brewers were unusually mum about their plans for Tuesday night, when Shaun Marcum was supposed to start against the Blue Jays before a tight elbow put him on the shelf. Instead, the team will promote a starter from the Minor Leagues, manager Ron Roenicke said.

And that’s all he said.

Cue the speculation about a promotion for Double-A Huntsville right-hander Tyler Thornburg, who is 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 13 starts for the Stars this season and is supposed to pitch in the Southern League All-Star Game on Tuesday night before a promotion to Triple-A Nashville. Might he pitch in Milwaukee instead?

There’s a chance.

“We’ll have somebody here, we’ll make a move [Tuesday]to be able to do that,” said manager Ron Roenicke, who indicated he might not make the announcement official until the team takes the field for batting practice.

He’s already informed the Blue Jays that someone is coming up, and gave some details without giving a name.

Roenicke said he couldn’t reveal the name because the Brewers must make a corresponding roster move. If it’s Thornburg, they’ll have to get him onto both the 40-man and 25-man rosters.

The team’s other option was to cobble together innings with relievers. But coming off a road trip that included a pair of extra-inning games, including a 15-inning loss to the Twins on Sunday, and with at least one reliever (Jose Veras) dealing with a nagging injury, that option was deemed too risky.

“If we do that [Tuesday], we’re going to be short Wednesday,” Roenicke said. “This [the Blue Jays] is a very good offensive team, and I would hate to be short in our bullpen trying to get through one game.”

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